I am so grateful to have been born about 2,000 years after Jesus Christ roamed the earth, and not during the period when He was alive. A few years ago, I read best-selling Author, Phillip Yancey’s book, ‘The Jesus I Never Knew’, and realized how I could easily have been one of those who chanted for Christ’s crucifixion and cried for the release of Barabbas the terrorist at Pilate’s mockery of a trial. I probably would have been one of those who followed Him to Calvary, not out of pity or compassion, just to make sure He was truly put to death.
Yancey’s book seeks to offer a new and different perspective on the life and work of Christ through the lens of a spectator who was alive during the time of Christ. Early in the book, Yancey asks, what would it have been like to hang on the edges of the crowds that followed Him everywhere? How would I have responded to Him? Would I have invited Him for dinner like Zacchaeus or turned away in sadness, like the rich young ruler? Betrayed Him, like Judas and Peter or doubted His loyalty like Mary and Martha? To answer Yancey’s big question, ‘Would Jesus have won me over?’, I take myself back 20 centuries ago.
A busy, married mother of three living in Jerusalem, my friends had just told me about the revolutionary Jew from Nazareth born into an ordinary Palestinian Jewish family. They said he was supposed to have been conceived by the Holy Spirit. Yeah right! He claimed to be the long-awaited Messiah that had been prophesied from of old. Hhmn, people can be so gullible! He referred to himself as the son of God but yet disobeyed the basic law of keeping the Sabbath. STOP.
There, right there, was evidence of his phoniness, if one did not already believe he was psychologically unstable. Nuff said. A truly holy Jew would never dare disobey the basic rule of keeping the Sabbath, how much more the Messiah. I told my friends that they were idiots to have been listening to and relating such nonsense. I had better things to do.
But I continue to be curious about the man and one day, happened upon him while out and about in Jerusalem, minding my own business. Well, I’m not sure if I expected the Son of the Almighty King to be tall, dark and handsome but this guy was no prince. He was ordinary-looking, with a simple but charismatic presence. His clothes were so plain, you had to wonder if they were from the Thrift store just outside the Temple where all the beggars got their stuff.
Despite his appearance, there was something about him that I could not put my finger on. He had just healed a blind man, yet was not boastful about it . That’s odd, why would he not want everybody to hear about it? Probably not sure of himself, it was just better-than-average magic after all. He was peaceful and calm and spoke knowledgeably and wisely about scripture. So, he was a good study, so what? The scribes were also knowledgeable.
There was an unexplainable joy about him as he spoke and worked the crowds. It was not a maniacal joy, it was pure and simple. And I could see how it was attracting people to him. He oozed compassion and seemed to genuinely care about those around him, almost like he had known them for long and loved them. Poor fools and plebeians, they need a good magician to solve all their problems.
Then I witnessed the oddest thing. He began to command demons to come out of a man. Whoa! This guy has truly lost it!! I hurry home to narrate the incident to my husband over dinner. I tell him all I have heard, a ‘holy’ man who had hung out with loose women and the hated tax collectors; who claimed he was one with The Father, (blasphemy) and that he could forgive sins. The nerve! Now he wanted us to do away with Yom Kippur, our Day of Atonement.
He also laid out the only option on how God forgives us. He said if we forgive unconditionally and endlessly, 7 x 7 times daily if need be, that is exactly how God would forgive us too. And if we are not able to forgive readily, we should not expect God to forgive us even when we ask. He’s nuts! How does he know God’s mind? He went on to ask that we love our enemies and turn our other cheek for a second slap if we were slapped on one side. So stupid and ignorant!! An eye for an eye goes all the way back to the time of our father in faith, Abraham.
My husband had also heard briefly about this guy we termed The Man, but is quick to dismiss my friends and I as gossips, looking for sensational news to share. He does want to hear more about The Man though, if I learn anything really believable and newsworthy to share. (Of course, when I talk to my husband about him, that’s a discussion on current affairs, not gossip!!)
And so the stories go on about The Man and his many miracles across the kingdom, until his return to Jerusalem just before the feast of Passover, riding on a donkey. His crowds have increased in number and they are cheering him on wildly with palm fronds. Unbelievable, he has become a distraction and is causing upheavals everywhere. I hope the Priests and Elders get rid of him quickly and all these ignorant people get their just reward from Yahweh for participating in this heresy. What a privilege it is to be learned and know better!!
A few days later, I was at his trial outside Pilate’s praetorium. Pilate gave us what we wanted, a crucifixion sentence, although he seemed initially reluctant. I wonder why, The Man was obviously guilty. On the long walk up the hill to Golgotha, he fell down 3 times, clearly frail and feeble, requiring help with carrying his cross. Son of God indeed. I realize he is not complaining or blaming anybody. He seems resigned to his fate. Good, enough of his nonsense.
As he hung up on the cross to die, he cut a weak and pitiful picture. I noticed that prostitute, Mary Magdalen, among the group of women at the foot of his cross. Hhmn, that was the kind of company he kept, holy, my foot. And then he died….Just as I was about to high-five my friends, I heard the thunderous noise…GGGRRRRR…BBBRRRRR…what is happening? An earthquake?? I run for cover, scared for my life…….
Phew! I am back in 2017, my eyes opened by Grace, humbled and grateful to be living in this time of hope, after-the-fact. I now see how easy it would have been to judge what I did not understand in my self-righteousness, how I could have been so ‘holy’ and so religious that I would have missed out on eternal life. What an irony. My faith in Jesus has saved me, but has it changed me?
We can all participate in the self-reflection. Am I still verbally judgmental and cynical about the beliefs, faith and religious practices of others when I do not understand? Or do I just pray for them and ask God to reveal Himself to them? Does spiritual pride make me think of myself as better than others because of my gifts or walk with Christ? Am I on the verge of what Yancey terms ‘professional holiness’? Or do I consider all that I am and have as products of Grace, a Grace that is readily available to anyone who believes?
Remembering His compassion on Mary Magdalen and the Samaritan woman who had been married 5 times, I wonder: Do I judge the life-story, character and behavior of others readily or do I always keep in mind that we are all broken to various extents and are all constantly in need of this healing Grace? Do I find it easier to identify faults more than I find virtues in people? Am I drawn to people or repelled by their outward appearance or do I try to know them as unique individuals?
The problem with judging others is that we are only able to judge external images, actions and words. This makes our assessments flawed and half-baked at best. The Lawgiver on the other hand, is able to scrutinize the thoughts and minds of His creatures and therefore judges both the actions and motives. This is why some people may seemingly get away with what we readily condemn as wrong because their actions come from a good and acceptable mindset. As Yancey points out, it is not that people’s behavior does not matter; it does. It is simply not how to get accepted by God; His Holiness is exclusive, His Mercy is inclusive.
“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge….but you, who are you to judge your neighbor?” James 4:12 (Who are you to take over God’s job? Leave it to Him!). “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand for the Lord is able to make them stand.” Romans 14:4
Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 